Traffic - We must make our town safer

I have lived in Market Rasen for 15 years and I am extremely concerned about the traffic chaos in and around the town.

In response to John Siddle’s article in the Market Rasen Mail on December 2, I would like to make the following points.

Firstly, we are all sadly aware of the death of a woman at the junction of Mill Road, Nursery Street and Gordon Field.

Studying this junction, I would personally suggest the addition of a mini-roundabout, although it would impinge on the pavement in front of the library.

There are vehicles executing three-point turns at the entrance of Gordon Field every day.

Many people park outside the medical centre or at the entrance to the road and then need to turn around. Their only option is a three-point turn at this already busy junction, especially when schoolchildren are arriving and departing.

There is still a big problem outside the primary school in Mill Road, although there are some parents who now park in John Street car park, before walking up to collect their children.

Despite this, there are others who continue to block this corner.

Some drive up to Coronation Road before swinging round to park on the left hand side, which already has homeowners’ cars parked outside.

Others park on the sleeping policeman, or the pavement opposite the school itself, leaving less room for pedestrians.

As a solution, how about making the two gated access points on the corner of Mill Road for the use of pedestrians only, and consider a drop-off point to the rear of the school, which would also provide extra parking for visitors to the town.

Whether this is a realistic option would depend on who owns the fields beyond the school’s playing fields, but it is surely worth exploring.

My second thought would be to install a mini-roundabout on the school’s playground by offering the school a more substantial playground on its existing playing field.

The crossroads at John Street, Mill Road, Chapel Street and Kilnwell Road are hectic leading to the surgery and town centre.

I would have thought a pedestrian crossing on both sides of the road would be something most people would welcome.

Traffic coming from Kilnwell Road and joining Dear Street can arrive quite quickly, especially as it concealed by a bend.

With the addition of two crossings, the north end of John Street should then be pedestrianised.

This would solve the problem of pedestrians having to dice with death as they attempt to cross the north end of John Street.

To help matters further, Dear Street ought to be made a one-way system, bringing traffic into Market Rasen from the A631.

Travelling on the road towards Middle Rasen, you encounter a blind spot.

You only require one impatient driver from Gainsborough Road to overtake at this junction when a vehicle is coming out of Dear Street and there could be a serious accident.

There was a stationary vehicle just before this junction the other week, which forced a coach to go around the corner on the wrong side of the road.

More road signs and yellow lines would be helpful on the A631 indicating not to overtake.

Personally, I will not walk along the north side of King Street towards Festival Hall.

The road is far too narrow for such heavy and wide vehicles, especially with HGVs rubbing their tyres along the curb as pedestrians walk along the footpath.

Whatever happened to our bypass plans? This would reroute any heavy traffic around our town, reducing the risk to pedestrians.

There are very few cycle paths in and around Market Rasen. In fact, at this time of year, you could say there are none at all.

That is because if you study them, or have the misfortune of using them, they are covered in hedge trimmings and thorns – a lethal combination.

Is there not a rule to require people to clean up their mess after carrying out any work to hedges, especially when it runs alongside a pavement or cycle paths?

Last Friday, I was forced to cycle on a busy road after already receiving one puncture.

More cycle paths in and around Market Rasen for the safety of our cyclists would be extremely gratefully received.

Don’t get me wrong, Market Rasen is a fantastic town to reside in. There is so much to offer and do, especially with the U3A on our doorstep.

With a great bus service, what more could we possibly ask for? A safer town would be a good start.